50 Cents recent extracurricular activities involving Rick Ross family and baiting fellow mogul Jay-Z will fall short of pushing another #1 debut, as Before I Self Destruct is projected to sell 160,000 copies.
According to sales projection site hitsdailydouble.com, the G Unit CEO latest project will land behind chart topper John Mayers new LP Battle Studies (projected to push 275,000-300,000) and possibly albums from songstress Norah Jones, Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, and Christian band Casting Crowns.
Before I Self-Destruct has been plagued by numerous pushbacks over the last year. Since an initial release announcement in February 2008, 50 has released 4 singles, including 2 that did not make the final tracklisting: Get Up, I Get It In, Ok, Youre Right, and Baby By Me.
Additionally, the album leaked a whole month early on October, prompting the Queens native to push up the release date from November 23 to November 16 after gauging positive feedback from fans.
If the projected numbers hold, Before I Self-Destruct will be 50 Cents lowest debut week, following 2007s Curtis (695,000), 2003s Get Rich or Die Tryin (872,000), and 2005s The Massacre (1.5 million). Because the album hit iTunes a week early, those digital sales will be added to the rappers total tally.
To date, the latest single Baby By Me has peaked at #28 on Billboards Top 100.
At press time, the moguls next single will be Get It Hot, featuring Lloyd Banks.